1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hangers having arms adapted to support items of clothing in display cases, closets and the like. More specifically, this invention relates to hangers having arms in which there are openings and slots in the upper surface and hooks in the lower surface upon which garments having various types of straps may be conveniently hung.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Slip preventing means for garment hangers having openings and slots on the upper surfaces of their arms for hanging garments which suspend from straps are well known. For example, U.S Pat. No. 3,168,970 ("the 970 patent") teaches a flexible sleeve-type member having a friction creating upper surface to aid in hanging garments, particularly hard surfaced or slippery garments such as silk blouses and silk dresses, on the above noted hangers which are normally used for hanging garments suspended from straps such as, for example, ladies' silk slips. These slip preventing means are attached to hangers of this type in a variety of ways. The means disclosed in the 970 patent are typical. They have a friction creating upper surface and lip portions which curl under the upper surface to engage the top flange of an arm of the garment hanger. The upper surface also has a cup-like closed end which is located on the underside of the upper surface at the very end of the member. This closed end engagingly encompasses and abuts against the end of a portion of the flange which projects over the top of one or more openings in the side walls of these hangers. A portion of the flange projects over the slot from the higher side of the arm and another portion of the flange projects over the slot from the lower side of the arm. The ends of the two projecting portions do not meet, but rather define the ends of an opening in the upper surface of the arm. The opening leads to the slot so that straps which support certain garments can be inserted into the opening and come to rest on the lower surface of the slot.
The cup-like closed end of these prior art slip preventing means can be fitted over that portion of the flange which projects over the opening from the upper side of the arm ("the upper projection") or, in the alternative, it can be fitted over that portion of the flange which projects over the slot from the lower side of the arm ("the lower projection"). When the cup-like closed end is fitted over the upper projection, the friction creating upper surface of the member extends from the end of the upper projection upward toward the upper part of the hanger arm where the collar region of the garment normally hangs. When the slip prevention means is in this position the friction creating surface of the member extends along the upper portion of the hanger arm, i.e., from the collar region of the hanger to the end of the upper projection which terminates at the upper end of the opening over the slot which is normally located near the middle of the shoulder portion of the hanger arm. Conversely, when the cup-like closed end of this type of slip preventing means is fitted over the lower projection, the friction creating upper surface of the member extends from the end of the lower projection toward the lower end of the hanger where the arm section of the garment normally is associated with the hanger.
However, this type of slip preventing means is characterized by the fact that, regardless of whether the cup-like closed end of the member is fitted to the upper projection or to the lower projection the opening in the upper surface of the hanger arm remains substantially open. That is to say that the upper surface of the member does not extend beyond the outside surface of the cup. Furthermore, the opening remains substantially open even if both the upper projection and the lower projection were each respectively encompassed by a slip preventing means having these cup-like closed ends.
The fact that these hanger arm openings are left substantially open when the slip preventing means of the 970 patent are used in conjunction with hangers having such openings and slots detracts from the versatility of these hangers. For example, many kinds of garments made of many fabrics, such as loose knit woolens or delicate nylon or silk, tend to get caught in the openings even when many prior art slip preventing means are utilized. Consequently, such loose knit garments are frequently damaged as they are removed from these hangers or moved on these hangers. As a precaution, these kinds of garments are often hung on hangers which do not have such openings.
Therefore, the principle purpose of my invention is to provide friction means adapted for installation on hangers having slots in the upper surfaces of their arms so that these hangers may be used for hanging loose knit garments as well as hard or slippery surfaced garments which require a friction creating upper surface. Another embodiment of my invention allows the openings and slots of these hangers to be used without removing the slip preventing means of this invention from the hanger. Hence these features serve not only to enhance the usefulness and variety of applications of these hangers, but also to greatly reduce the labor associated with providing hangers of this type with different kinds of slip preventing means for different kinds of garments.